Essential Tips On The Best Chipper Shredder For Garden

Garden or lawn maintenance is probably one of the most daunting tasks in the field. Parts of the garden tasks include cultivating the soil, trimming grass, bushes and branches thus leaving the annoying pile of yard waste.

The hard part about dealing with yard waste is that it can be difficult to sort and throwing it in the trash will just leave you with a chunk or pile of bushes, grass and other garden rubble which may not be a good sight to see.

So in order to take care of all that, we use chipper shredders. It minimizes all work and rubble in the garden which neighbors always complain about.

To help you find the best chipper shredder for your garden maintenance needs, we’ve compiled a few essential info that you could use. Also, we’ll be adding along some of the best recommendations in the market today for your purchasing convenience.

What Is A Wood Chipper Shredder?

A chipper shredder, as the name suggests, is a special kind of shredder used in the garden or lawn. It shreds and grinds all kinds of yard waste into smaller and more manageable yard dirt.

By using a chipper shredder, garden owners are able to use the shreds as compost, for mulchin﻿﻿﻿﻿g and to be able to dispose of the dirt easily. Generally, it is used to reduce the sizes of garden waste to a more manageable size.

Features To Consider When Buying A Chipper Shredder

Chipper shredders can be a complicated garden equipment and it is definitely not easy to find the best one that completely suits your needs. So to help you with that, we’ve laid out all the things you need to consider for your chipper shredder purchase.

1. Hoppers

There are a number of chipper shredders that come with a hopper mounted on its top. This provides convenience in simply dropping the yard waste over the shredder. Just drop all the yard rubble on the hopper and let gravity do the rest.

As you check the hopper, make sure it is durable and can withstand the weight of the yard waste which you are looking to shred.

2. Branch Chute

Chipper shredders also come with a side-mounted branch chute designed to handle larger debris such as tree branches. This feature of the chipper shredder allows the bigger debris to skip past the flails and go directly to the blades instead.

One thing to note about the handling bigger sized debris is that the blades should also be bigger – of course so should the chute.

3. Wheels

Chipper shredders that are gas-powered usually come with wheels. There are large assortments of wheel sizes that come with this equipment. One important thing to note about it is your garden terrain. If you’re dealing with a rough and uneven terrain then you would probably be better off with bigger wheels.

Whereas, if you’re dealing with an even terrain on your garden, you can go with the smaller diameter of wheels for your chipper shredder.

4. Weight

Another important thing to consider about your ideal chipper shredder is its weight. If you’re looking to more around most of the time for your garden maintenance then it would better to have a lightweight chipper shredder.

On the flip side, lighter models are usually a lot less powerful that its heavier counterparts.

5. Feed Capacity

The feed capacity will tell you how much debris you can feed the shredder with. So if you’re dealing with bundles of garden debris fed to the shredder at the same time then it would be wise to go with one with a large feeding capacity as well as one with multiple chutes.

6. Blades Or Flails

A greater number of flails or blades you have in your chipper will make the equipment last for longer uses. The increased number means you don’t have to sharpen them as often.

7. Maintenance

Each type of chipper shredder requires a different level of maintenance than the other. The most difficult type of shredder to maintain is the gas-powered chipper shredder for the simple reason that its engine may not always be in perfect running conditions – especially during winters.

In addition, gas-powered chipper shredders have more parts compared to the other types which take longer to clean and maintain.

8. Noise Levels

Just like all shredders, the chipper shredder is also a noisy tool. As for the noisiest of them all, the gas-powered shredders climb the top of the ladder. If you’re not happy with using a noisy shredder then you can go with the electric-powered versions of chipper shredders.

Top 5 Chipper Shredders In The Market Today

After knowing learning what a chipper shredder is and how to find the best one that suits your requirements, we can now proceed with the list of top chipper shredders in the market today.

This list is compiled using the criteria of efficiency, affordability and for added features.

1. Lawn Master FD1501 Electric Chipper Shredder

This chipper shredder from Lawn Master features a dynamic 15 ampere electric motor which is more than capable of handling yard wastes. It is designed with a heavy duty catch bag for easy sorting along with a push stick to push the debris with.

As an added s﻿afety feature, designers came up with its built-in overload protector which makes sure that the engine doesn’t heat up. The way this works is that the leaves should first be mowed just like how grass should be trimmed first before being added to the shredder.

It weighs a bit heavier then than the previous models with 25 lbs., however, packs the most shredding power. Despite the heavy weight, it is easy to move around because it comes with a set of 8” wheels which make moving around even as well as uneven terrains a breeze.

2. WORX 13Amp Electric Leaf Mulcher

Starting off our list of top chipper shredders in the market is the WORX 13Amp Electric Leaf Mulcher. This product is equipped with 13 amps of power with 120 v motor which completely shreds all your raked leaves right to at least 1/11th of their size.

It comes with a bladeless mulching mechanism which is user-friendly and provides a 13-inch cutting diameter. It is estimated that this equipment can mulch as much as 53 gallons of leaves in a minute. To sort out the shredded waste, it also comes with a universal bag holder for convenient sorting and disposal.

Another good thing about this chipper shredder is that it is environment-friendly since it uses electric power instead of gas which usually emits smoke that can cause harm to the environment.

PROS

Fast and powerful mulching with 53 gallons of leaves in just a minute

Can sort shreds using any kind of bag

Compact and easy to store

Free assembly

CONS

Spews dust everywhere

Not recommended for mulching twigs and tree branches

3. Flowtron LE-900 Mulcher Electric Leaf Shredder

Next on our list is the Flowtron LE-900 which is a common favorite because of its user-friendly interface. A lot lighter than the other models, the FLowtron leaf shredder only weighs 17 lbs which makes it very easy to move around and transported.

It features a powerful 5.9 amp motor that is thermally protected and can reduce yard debris quickly with minimal effort. Instead of the conventional garbage bag that comes with most shredders today, this particular product uses a garbage can as its disposal unit.

For ease of dropping the leaves, it comes with a 21” loading funnel with adjustable pressure knobs. Also, the Flowtron LE-900 is not only able to work on shredding leaves. It is also known to be effective in shredding grass clippings, paper as well as pine needles.

PROS

Features a motor overload protection

Amazing shredding power which can reduce debris to 80% of their original size

Easy and convenient loading through the 21 inch loading funnel

Mountable to a garbage can1 year warranty

CONS

No noise-reduction feature

Spews lots of debris after a few hours of use

4. Sun Joe SDJ616 the Shredder Joe 13 Amps

Another powerful chipper shredder that deserves a spot in our top 5 list is the Sun Joe SDJ616 Shredder. It features a powerful 13 amp motor which shreds garden debris at a rate of 8000 rpm. In a minute, it effortlessly shreds 55 gallons of leaves and other softer debris in the garden.

It comes with a plastic hopper which is lightweight making it easy and convenient to move around when working in the garden. With its 13 pound weight and compact design, it is easy to store anywhere in the shed.

It is designed with Smart Shred system that showcases advanced motor-cooling system to keep the engine free from debris. Also, this mechanism allows for lesser dust from the shredder.

PROS

Powerful motor which can shred 55 gallons of leaves using 8000 rpm

With adjustable controls that can shred dry and wet yard debris

Reduced dust performance and cooling system for cleaner air

CONS

Cannot continuously shred wet debris

Plastic housing makes it look cheap and easily breakable

5. Patriot Products CSV 3100B Gas Powered Wood Chipper

Lastly, this list wouldn’t be complete if we don’t include the Amazon favorite shredder – the Patriot Products CSV-3100B. This product is designed primarily for those with large areas of gardens, lawns or properties to maintain. It boasts its powerful engine – from Briggs & Stratton Vanguard Commercial which takes care of yard debris like a pro.

It has a patented direct drive mechanism that takes care of yard debris as soon as they are dropped onto the loading funnel. It features a set of large wheels for mobility however the device is equipped with a discharge chute which allows for shredding within just a single spot.

Also, it has a reduced sound performance due to its lo-tone premium muffler that also comes along with an oil sensor which notifies the operator for low oil.

PROS

Powerful engine with 10 HP

Shreds larger yard debris and branches having 3 inches of diameter

The side discharge allows the operator to shred yard debris within just one location

Reduced noise

CONS

Blades should always be maintained to lengthen its lifespan

Customer support is not very active

Conclusion

If you own a garden or a lawn especially when the area is large, it would be best to have your own chipper shredder. All the above-mentioned options are excellent in providing you efficient yard debris shredding. Probably the main influencing factor to which choice you should pick will depend on the volume of the yard debris.

If you’re looking to deal with a large volume of yard debris, we would recommend the one that packs the most power with a hopper that can handle the biggest volume. For this case, we would recommend the Lawn Master FD1501 Electric Chipper Shredder.

What do you think about our list of top 5 chipper shredders? Do you have other recommendations that should be included in this list? You can share your suggestions with us in the comment box below.

My name is Emily Taylor, gardening is my passion and I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone. I know that there are millions of people out there want their backyard and garden be attractive just like their front yard, so I am here to help you create your own backyard paradise.